Envelope construction



United States Patent M 3,298,598 ENVELOPE CONSTRUCTION Ramon H. Eberstadt, Fraccionamiento Los Alamos, Queretaro, Mexico (Providencia 5232, Mexico City 12, Mexico) Filed Feb. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 433,273 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-86) This invention relates to envelopes and more particularly to an improved means facilitating the opening of such envelopes.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of the invention, it may here be pointed out that a person receiving correspondence in a sealed envelope usually opens the envelope in one of two ways. The individual may use a letter opener or similar edged instrument to sever the envelope along one of its edges, or alternatively, after first holding the envelope up to the light to determine the relative position of its contents, tearing off as thin a strip as possible with the fingers, or finger nails, from an edge of the envelope which is clear of the contents. Both of these methods are tedious and time-consuming and may result in damage to the envelopes contents. Additionally, in the case of a heavy opaque envelope, holding the envelope to the light will not disclose the position of the contents, and an edge of the envelope remote from that edge to be torn or severed must be tapped on a hard surface to move the contents away from the edge to be opened.

An important object of the instant invention is, therefore, the overcoming of all of these difiiculties as well as others, in part hereinafter pointed out and in part obvious from the following specification and appended drawings.

Broadly, the instant invention consists in the provision of a string, cord, wire, plastic strip, or other thin flexible member, extending either entirely or partially along one or more edges of the envelope, secured beneath the fold line thereof by adhesive or other suitable means. One or more of the corners of the envelope beneath which the string runs are preferably but not necessarily perforated, so that such corner may be grasped between the fingers and torn with a minimum of effort and difliculty, exposing an end or a portion of the string which may then be pulled to rip an adjacent edge of the envelope clearly and smoothly, permitting ready removal of the contents.

A further important object of the invention is the provision of an improved envelope opening device which reduces the possibility of damage to the contents during opening to a minimum.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character whereby the opening of the envelope may be accomplished by a single movement of one hand, and which requires no additional mechanical aids.

Other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out hereinafter and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, wherein there are shown several preferred embodiments of the instant inventive concept.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of one form of envelope constructed according to the present invention, the dotted line showing how the tab comprising an element of the present invention is torn away, a portion of the face of the envelope being broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 4 discloses the two tabs and the attached string torn away from the form of the invention shown in FIGURE 3;

3,298,593 Patented Jan. 17, 1967 FIGURE 5 is a plan view disclosing another modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view showing still another modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of still another modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 8 discloses the tab and string tom from the form of the invention shown in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 shows still another form of the invention;

FIGURE 10 shows a detail of the invention shown in FIGURE 9, on an enlarged scale, with portions removed;

FIGURE 11 shows the blank before forming the envelope shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 12 discloses a further modified form of the invention with portions broken away.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

With reference now to the drawing in detail, one form of envelope according to the present invention is formed from a blank as shown in FIGURE 11, the blank having a main body portion 10, a first end flap 12, a second end flap 14, a bottom flap 16, and a top flap 18 which is provided with a gumrned edge portion as at 23.

The flap 12 is connected to the main body portion 141 along a fold line 22, the flap 14 is connected to the portion 10 by another fold line 24, and similarly the flaps 16 and 18 are connected to the body portion 10 by fold lines 26 and 28, respectively.

This is the ordinary type of blank employed in making most envelopes and the present invention includes the provision of a first row of perforations 30 extending from the fold line 24 to the ed e of the flap 14 at an angle of 45 with respect to the fold line 24.

The adjacent part of the body portion 10 is also provided with an angularly disposed row of perforations as at 32 in FIGURE 11, the row 32 registering with the row of perforations 30 when the flap 14 is folded on the body portion 10 as is obvious from the drawing.

Similarly, the flap 18 is provided in the adiacent area with a row of perforations as at 34 which also register with the row 30 when the flap 18 is folded upon the folded flap 14.

As shown in FIGURE 1, when the envelope is formed, as at 36, the folded portions exteriorly of the perforations form a tab 38 which may be torn from the envelope 36 by the fingers of the hand of the user.

A string 40 is embedded in the fold line 24 and has one end anchored to the parts of the blank which form the tab 38 and has the other end anchored at the other end of the fold line 24. Adhesive or other means is employed to secure the ends of the string 40 in the respective location.

Upon tearing of the tab 38 from the envelope 36, the string may be pulled outwardly to slit the envelope paper at the fold line 24 and to open the end of the envelope.

In applying the adhesive, if such is used as the securing means, care should be taken to ensure the adherence of the string at its extremities, in order to prevent pulling the string out of the envelope without tearing its associated edge.

Preferably, although not necessarily, the adherence of the string should be to one inside surface of the envelope only, so as not to reduce the internal capacity of the envelope, as would be the case if adjacent portions of the envelope were permanently adhered together.

Similarly, for economy in manufacture the string may be secured to the envelope only at its ends, but preferably for the addition of strength, the string is fastened along its entire length.

The string may also be contained entirely within the envelope, as shown in the illustrative embodiments herein, or may have one or both of its ends protruding from the envelope. This latter construction is not preferred, due to the fact that the ends or end may become caught or entangled in extraneous material, thus resulting in the premature tearing or opening of the envelope, but nonetheless is to be considered within the purview of the instant invention.

With reference to the form of the invention shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, an envelope is illustrated at 42 and an opener device is shown in FIGURE 4 in which there is a string 44 with tabs 46 and 48 at the ends thereof. The tabs 46 and 48 are formed in the same manner as the tab 38. In FIGURE another envelope is shown and designated by the reference numeral 50 and in which there is a string 52 embedded in the end fold line and the bottom fold line and tabs 54 and 56 are at opposite corners and are formed in the same manner as the previously discussed tabs 38, 46 and 48.

In FIGURE 6 an envelope 58 is shown in which a string 60, shown on dotted lines, is embedded in the bottom fold only with tabs 62 and 64 secured to the ends of the string 60 and made in the same manner as the previously discussed tabs.

In FIGURE 7 an envelope 66 is shown in which the string extends around all of the fold lines and has its ends anchored in the body portion and in a tab 68 formed in the corner of the envelope 66 and formed in quite a similar manner as previously shown, the string being designated by the numeral 70 and shown only in dotted lines.

FIGURE 8 shows the string 70 and tab 68 removed from the envelope 66, portions of the string 70 being broken away.

In FIGURE 9 an envelope 72 is shown to have double tabs '74 and '7' 6 at each corner and a section of string 78, 80, 82, and 84 extending between the adjacent tabs. This permits opening of the envelope at any corner or total removal of the front of the envelope from the associated flaps after the envelope has been formed.

In FIGURE one of the corners is shown as torn from the envelope 72 indicating that the strings 80 and 82, along with the tabs 74 and 76 when they are removed, remain in a single piece.

The perforations hereinbefore described may extend deeply into the blank paper or they may be merely suggested by scoring the paper deeply either with a straight line or with a dotted line to suggest that the corner be torn off at that point.

While the term string has been used heretofore and throughout the appended claims, it is to be understood that such term is used in its. generic sense, and may be applied to a cord, wire, thin plastic strip, fiber or any other thin flexible instrumentality which will perform the described function.

The mode of use and application of the invention will be readily apparent from the foregoing, and it is to be 5 understood that the size, shape, and material of the envelope as well as that of the string are immaterial to this inventive concept as described and claimed.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is herein provided an improved means facilitating the opening of envelopes which accomplishes all the objects of this invention, and others, including many advantages of 5 great practical utility and commercial importance.

As many embodiments may be made of this inventive concept, and as many modifications may be made in the embodiments hereinbefore shown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

In a blank for forming an envelope including a body portion rectangular in shape and a flap extending outwardly from each of the edges of said portion and adapted to be folded along such edges at fold lines so as to overlie said body portion, the improvement consisting in each of said flaps having a row of perforations extending from the contiguous fold line to the adjacent edge of the flap, said body portion being provided with rows of perforations which register with the rows of perforations on said flaps when said flaps are in the overlying position, adjacent fla-ps also being provided with rows of perforations similarly disposed and registering with the first mentioned perforations and said body portion perforations when said flaps are in overlying positions, the parts of said flaps and the part of said body portion on the side of said perforations when the envelope is formed providing a triangular tab at each corner for tearing away from the formed envelope, and a string underlying each fold line and having a portion adjacent each end and anchored in a tab when the envelope is formed, each string extending only to the opposite end of its contiguous fold line, whereby the envelope may be opened along any edge by removal of a tab at one end thereof, wherein each triangular tab is provided with a row of perforations extending perpendicularly from its base to its apex, between the adjacent ends of adjacent strings so that each tab may be separate to permit removal of either of said last mentioned adjacent strings without disturbing the other.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 180,773 8/1876 Magruder et al 22986 1,155,740 10/1915 Lacroix et al 22986 1,983,400 12/ 1934 Reiner 22986 2,858,971 11/1958 Sandstrom 22986 FOREIGN PATENTS 500,898 1/1920 France. 1,297,143 5/ 1962 France. 348,017 5/1937 Italy. 376,760 5/ 1964 Switzerland.

5 GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, DAVIS T. MOORHEAD,

Examiners. 

